1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a surgical driver, and, more particularly, to an angled surgical driver.
2. Description of the Related Art
Joint replacement surgery has been used in the United States since as early as the 1960's. Implanting or repairing a prosthetic acetabular shell using a procedure of minimal invasive surgery requires screw hole plugs and screws that must be screwed in an acetabular shell. Bone screws are often driven through screw holes in the acetabular shell and into surrounding cortical bone to secure the shell to the bone. Screw hole openings in the acetabular shell are generally at an angle with respect to the surgical site, which often precludes a straight driving instrument from having the proper angle to reach the screw hole opening in the shell.
Minimally invasive surgical techniques have the advantage of reducing the trauma to tissue surrounding the surgical site during a surgical procedure. Often a reamer is required to prepare an implant site for the receipt of the acetabular shell, the reamer is connected to a driver, which is in turn connected to a rotational tool. The driver has a specific structure at the proximal (to the surgical site) end thereof, which is compatible with specific attachment mechanisms on the reamers.
An orthopaedic reamer assembly, which includes a driver, may also be used to shape an exterior surface of a bone. A rotary tool provides the motive force and is connected to the driver which is connected to the reamer. The driver generally has a shaft and a drive end. Orthopaedic reamer drivers are known which have a flexible shaft. The flexible shaft allows the reamer to travel along the path of a non-linear passage, such as an intramedullary canal, and thereby ream a non-linear opening.
It is known to have a drive body with L-shaped linking bars mounted between a drive body and a driven body with multiple L-shaped drive bars mounted therebetween. The drive body has a central linking hole with multiple mounting holes arranged around a periphery of the linking hole. As disclosed in United States Patent Application Publication No. US2004/0045417 A1.
What is needed in the art is a driving mechanism that doesn't require a central linking pin.